motoring_Layout 1 21/05/2012 12:12 Page 1
Motoring
City STAR There’s a new model around town. Sue Cooke tries out Skoda’s Citigo… SALES of cars that are perfect for city
driving have doubled and until now it is a sector that Skoda hasn’t ventured into. However, in 2010 Skoda set itself a multi million pound investment strategy which includes a new corporate identity and over the next six months, new products. Enter the Citigo, a three and five door city car. It has a class leading wheelbase of 2.4m so there is adequate room in the rear for passengers legs and at its launch, I didn’t notice a ‘too close for comfort’ feeling between me and my co-driver. The longer wheelbase, just half a metre shorter than its sibling, the Fabia, also gives class leading boot space of 951 litres with the seats down and 251 litres in normal mode. Extra storage is helped by a much deeper boot than other cars in this sector. The Citigo has a traditional exterior and in my opinion, a somewhat old fashioned looking square rear end. The interior though has a more contemporary feel with the inner doors trimmed in the same colour metal as the exterior colour. There are three trim levels and Skoda expects 48 per cent of buyers will choose the medium SE trim, 41 per cent will opt for the top of the range Elegance. The range of features include radio CD, an infotainment system with sat nav, phone and Bluetooth. As safety is important to buyers of city cars, ESP braking technology is standard and the 68|eastlife.co.uk
Citigo has received a 5 star Euro NCAP rating. The top of the range trim has the benefit of optional City Safe safety technology which we were allowed to test at the launch, albeit with a polystyrene filled wall. Drive towards an object at up to 30mph and if the car senses that the driver isn’t going to stop, the car will automatically brake. There are two 1 litre 3 cylinder engines to choose from with fantastic green technology. The Greentech
version, with under 100g/km CO2 emissions will mean buyers won’t pay road tax or congestion charges and combined fuel consumption is 68.9mpg. I found that the smaller 60PS engine is slightly noisier than the 75PS engine. I preferred the latter as it is more refined and offers quicker acceleration which is important in city
driving for accessing busy roundabouts. There is a choice of manual transmission or an auto sequential gearbox which offers manual and automatic modes. The Skoda Citigo goes on sale on 1 June and Skoda expects to sell 8,000 in a full year. With strong residual values of 47 to 51 per cent over 3 years and 30,000 miles and with an insurance rating of 1E to 2E, the Citigo will have a strong appeal to retail buyers.
Facts at a Glance Model Skoda Citigo Elegance 5 door Price £10,210 Engine 1.0 litre 75PS Greentech Performance 0-62mph in 13.2 seconds and on to a top speed of 107mph CO2 emissions 98 g/km Combined fuel consumption 67.3mpg